Electrospun polymer nanofibres as solid-phase extraction sorbents for extraction and quantification of microcystins

<div><p>Electrospun polymer nanofibres were used as novel solid-phase extraction (SPE) sorbents to extract and quantify the microcystins (MCs) including microcystin-RR (MC-RR) and microcystin-LR (MC-LR) from in-suit water samples. The parameters that influenced the extraction efficiency were studied, including the amount of nanofibre, eluted solvent, eluted volume, pH, and the water sample volume. Under optimized conditions, a linear response for MC-RR and MC-LR over the range of 0.25–4 µg/L was achieved with <i>r</i>² values of 0.998 and 0.997, respectively. The extraction recovery of MC-RR and MC-LR was 97–102% and 98–100%, respectively, when the MC concentration was 0.25–4 µg/L. When their concentrations ranged from 0.05 to 0.25 µg/L, the MCs could be detected with high accuracy by the nanofibre SPE sorbent combined with nitrogen gas. Due to its simplicity, environment-friendliness, high efficiency, reusability, and sensitivity, the electrospun polymer nanofibre can be applied as a novel SPE sorbent to extract and detect the MCs from in-suit water samples.</p>